


Double Birthday

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 03:45:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12203250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Smokeeye goes into labour, giving Louisa a very special birthday present.





	Double Birthday

Louisa blinked sleepily as she sipped at her third (or was it fourth?) birthday coffee. She'd started her birthday being woken by a horse insistently neighing and pawing at and kicking the side of the house, and Lisa had immediately sat bolt upright in bed, wondering what was wrong with Starshine. They'd both thrown on coats and shoes and run outside in their pyjamas, where they'd found a stallion very concerned for his mate. She'd gone into labour, and it had all gone very quickly from there.

"I don't know who's more nervous," said Lisa, leaning back on the bench seat and crossing her legs at the ankles.

"Well, she's his mate and my favourite horse," said Louisa. "You'd be nervous too, if it was the other way around." She could see Smokeeye from here, lying on her side in a large box stall. Her heavy breathing sent bits of hay floating away from her muzzle, and she gave a tired nicker. Louisa wanted to go over and comfort her mare, but the vet had warned her against it. A pregnant mare could kick out or snap at her during the birthing process, so it was best to give her some room.

"I guess it's like your child giving birth," said Lisa. "You're a grandmother." Louisa nodded, not really registering what Lisa said. "You can go back to bed if you want, I'll come get you if anything changes."

"No, I'm good," said Louisa. "This coffee is keeping me awake." She yawned, and Lisa chuckled and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend in an attempt to pull her closer.

"Little do you know, I switched you to decaf after the first one," said Lisa, smiling as Louisa snuggled up to her.

"Traitor," Louisa murmured, and the gentle rhythm of Lisa's chest rising and falling, and the feeling of Lisa's fingers gently stroking her hair, quickly sent Louisa to sleep. Not even Smokeeye's pain could wake her, though it helped that the mare was being kind enough to not let her rider know how much it hurt. Starshine, on the other hand, was every bit the nervous father.

Lisa could hear him pacing outside the stable, and she could hear his thoughts, as usual, being sent to her in a stream of nervous chatter of worries and what ifs.

 _"How old is she again? What if Star Breed foals make for difficult births? What if the combination is wrong? What if she dies or our foal dies? What if she never wants to see me again? Oh, have I truly doomed us? Will our union create an abomination the likes of which the world has never seen? Is there a reason why all the Star Breeds died out? Oh, if only there was any knowledge on my breed! And why am I not allowed in there with her?"_ Starshine fretted, stopping to count with his hoof at every turn. _"Surely it has been two hours now? Perhaps three? Oh, why is it taking so long?"_ He stopped and whinnied loudly. Smokeeye raised her head to give a tired whinny in return, and then she lowered it, returning to pained grunts and nickers.

Lisa sighed, knowing that she should go outside to comfort her Soul Steed but not wanting to leave her girlfriend's side. Louisa needed her sleep, and Starshine would eventually tire himself out. She could still talk to him, though.

 _"Starshine, it's going to be okay,"_ said Lisa through their bond. _"Smokeeye is doing just fine, and so is the foal. The vet would tell us if anything was going wrong."_

 _"But what if she's only not telling us because she doesn't want to worry us?"_ said Starshine. _"Oh, Lisa, I would feel so much better if it was you overseeing the birth."_

 _"Well, Louisa wanted a qualified vet to do it,"_ said Lisa. _"And I don't mind, it means that I can sit here and hold her hand and keep her calm."_

 _"I don't remember her being this calm when Morningflower first foaled,"_ said Starshine.

 _"Oh, she was worried,"_ said Lisa. _"But it was different with her. You know that Louisa loves Smokeeye almost as much as I love you."_

 _"Strange that she loves that horse more than she loves her own Soul Steed,"_ said Starshine. _"But it is different, I suppose."_

 _"But she still has a strong bond with Goldie,"_ said Lisa. _"I guess it's got a lot to do with the fact that Smokeeye is the horse that she met me on. She's associated with good memories."_

 _"Oh, and what good memories they are,"_ said Starshine with a wistful sigh. He stopped pacing, much to Lisa's relief. That sound had been driving her nuts. _"When I first saw her, carrying Louisa on her back through Greendale, and she seemed to understand my worry over you. And then, when Louisa had to leave you in that awful place overnight, she came and visited me, to keep me company as I stood vigil. We talked about riders who were too reckless for their own good, and she said how strange it was to be able to talk to a human as she would talk to a horse. To feel what that human felt, to have a bond unlike any other."_

 _"I guess you never had that, huh?"_ said Lisa.

 _"Actually, I did,"_ said Starshine. _"I didn't know, at first, that I was destined to be a Soul Steed. I knew that I was special, but I thought that it was just because I am a Star Breed. I had no idea of my true destiny until that day when you arrived at Jorvik Stables and healed me."_ Lisa blushed, smiling at the memory.

 _"Same here,"_ said Lisa. _"God, that was so long ago now. We were just babies."_ Starshine nickered in amusement.

 _"And now look at us,"_ said Starshine. _"I am a father, and you are a touring rock star."_

 _"A touring rock star with her girlfriend asleep in her lap,"_ said Lisa.

 _"Yes,"_ said Starshine. _"We have found love and our dreams. I am so proud of us, Lisa."_

 _"Me too,"_ said Lisa, looking down lovingly at her girlfriend. But the moment was broken when the vet poked her head out of the room.

"It's happening," said the vet. "The little guy is on his way out."

"Sweet! Come on babe, wake up," said Lisa, gently rousing her girlfriend. "The foal is almost here."

"Let's go," Louisa murmured, getting up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, but she walked over to the box stall pretty quickly.

 _"What's happening?"_ Starshine asked from outside, and Lisa heard the stable doors rattle as he tried to get inside.

"No, you have to stay out there," said Lisa. "The foal is coming really soon."

 _"Oh heavens, I'm so nervous,"_ said Starshine, and the pacing started up again.

 _"I'll keep you updated,"_ Lisa promised, and walked into the box stall after her girlfriend.

"Come on girl, you can do it," Louisa said to Smokeeye as her mare whinnied and her stomach rippled.

"Be careful," said the vet. "I invited you in here to witness the birth, but it's still risky. A hurting mare could easily injure someone, even a beloved rider, in her pain."

"We're Soul Riders, though, it's different for us," said Lisa. "But let's just step away from her a little." She took her girlfriend's hand, and Louisa reluctantly stepped away from her mare, though she squeezed Lisa's hand tightly. Lisa smiled, lacing their fingers together.

A few minutes later, Smokeeye gave one last push and a small brown body slid out onto the hay.

"Congratulations, it's a healthy baby colt," said the vet, watching as Smokeeye stretched around to nuzzle her foal. Lisa and Louisa cooed in delight, watching as Smokeeye got to know her son. He had a little white spot on his forehead, and his mother's long dark 'boots'. Louisa was pleased to see that the colt had taken on his mother's colouring with his father's long limbs that would probably look elegant when he wasn't a gangly foal.

"I feel like a proud grandmother," said Louisa, laughing. She couldn't stop grinning at the sight of the foal as Smokeeye cared for him. He was still wet from the birth, but Louisa knew that he'd dry soon.

"Well, he's the foal of my stallion," said Lisa, smiling at the sight as well. She looked up at the vet. "Can I bring my stallion in now, by the way? I know he wants to meet his foal and see that his mate's okay."

"It might be dangerous," said the vet.

"It's fine, he won't hurt us," said Lisa. "Or the foal. He has human intelligence."

"Hmm. Okay," said the vet. "Against my better judgement, I'll let the father in."

"Next time, we're getting a druid vet," Lisa muttered as she left the stable.

 _"If there is a next time,"_ Smokeeye murmured in Louisa's mind. _"Let me recover from this birth first."_

Lisa came back in leading Starshine, but she let go of the lead rope when her horse neighed and hurried over to his mate and newborn son.

 _"He is beautiful,"_ said Starshine, nuzzling his mate and his foal in turn. _"Well done, my love. You have done an excellent job."_

 _"Thank you,"_ said Smokeeye, stretching her neck forward to lick her foal as he shuffled towards her.

"This is highly unusual," said the vet, looking very tense and confused. "Normally, a dam is reluctant to let humans near her foal, let alone another horse."

"Well, Smokeeye's a special mare," said Louisa. "And Starshine is a special stallion."

"Yes, I can see that," said the vet. "Hesitant as I am to leave them alone, I feel like I should."

"It's a private family moment," said Lisa. She could tell that Starshine and Smokeeye were talking, but neither she nor Louisa could hear them. It was, evidently, a private conversation. But they both looked very happy, though Starshine awkwardly stepped away as his son began feeding. The vet left the room around this time too, clearly uncomfortable around the strange magic of the Soul Riders.

"Do you know what you're going to call him?" asked Louisa, hoping that Smokeeye wouldn't mind the intrusion into her little family bubble.

 _"Yes,"_ said Smokeeye, watching her son feed.

 _"Starry, Starry Night,"_ said Starshine, raising his head with a proud whinny. Smokeeye nickered.

 _"That can be his show name,"_ said Smokeeye. _"But his official Jorvegian name... I can't remember the list of available names. Louisa, do you have a list?"_

"I sure do," said Louisa, getting out her phone and finding the right website. She scrolled down. "Well, the closest thing I can find to that is Starknight."

 _"Oh, that's perfect,"_ said Smokeeye. _"A little knight. My knight of the stars."_

 _"A noble name, for the son of a Soul Steed,"_ said Starshine, giving his tail a happy swish.

"Should we leave you three to bond now?" asked Louisa. She yawned, and Lisa giggled.

 _"Well, you two have been up for a very long time now,"_ said Smokeeye. _"You should rest, Louisa."_

"Wow, you're acting like a mum already," said Louisa. "I'm not tired, though."

 _"I have a bond with you, remember? I know that you're exhausted,"_ said Smokeeye.

"But I don't want to waste my birthday sleeping," said Louisa. "It's my special day."

"Have a sleep and I'll take you out for a special birthday lunch or dinner, whatever time it is when you wake up," said Lisa.

"And go horse shopping?" asked Louisa. Lisa chuckled.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" said Lisa. "It's a birthday tradition, after all."

"Thank you," said Louisa, hugging her girlfriend.

"I take care of you," said Lisa. "We take care of each other because we're self-destructive idiots sometimes." Louisa laughed.

"Oh, I just realised that now I share a birthday with Smokeeye's foal," said Louisa. "That's funny, sharing a birthday with a horse." She giggled, finding this idea particularly funny.

"You're getting giggly now, time to sleep," said Lisa, gently pushing her girlfriend out of the stable. She smiled back at the new family one last time as she left. She wondered if maybe Louisa's horse families said something about her girlfriend, some secret maternal instinct. But they could discuss that later. For now, her girlfriend needed sleep, so she'd be ready for horse shopping later.


End file.
